


girl's night in

by notwriting



Category: The Bright Sessions (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Possibly Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 13:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10412721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notwriting/pseuds/notwriting
Summary: Sam has never kissed anyone, and Chloe has a bottle of wine and a lot of experience.takes place during episode 22





	

**Author's Note:**

> honestly where's all the femslash for this show u cowards
> 
> i haven't written a complete fanfic since high school and then i heard sam say she never kissed anyone and chloe respond with "i'll be at ur apartment later tonight with a bottle of wine" and i was spurred with FORCE to write this extremely self indulgent fic.

            “I’m gonna mess up- I’m totally gonna mess this up, right? I mean there’s literally no way that this isn’t going to be messy. I should just forget about this whole thing,” Sam said, nearly spilling her wine as she quickly took a sip from her freshly refilled glass.

            “Okay, first of all, slow down, you’re working yourself up again. Sam, you’re so overthinking this! Which, I know is kind of your style, but relationships really aren’t as scary as you think they are,” Chloe said.

            “I am not scared,” Sam said defensively. Chloe eyed her from the other end of the couch where she was sitting cross-legged, leaning toward her friend. “Okay, I’m scared. God, there’s really no hiding anything from you.”

            Chloe smiled. “Hey, like I said before, I know you now, Sam. Even if I wasn’t a mind-reader it wouldn’t take one to see how nervous you’ve been. And if it makes you feel any better, pretty much all first kisses are bad.”

            “You know, somehow that doesn’t help, actually,” Sam said.

            Chloe rolled her eyes and scooted forward on the couch to fill up some of the space between them.

            “No listen, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just part of learning. Like, most of the time you try something new, you’re not going to get the hang of it right away. It takes practice, so does any part of a relationship. And yes, I’m sure I’m only twenty-one but I’m flattered you think I’m so wise,” Chloe said.

            Sam’s cheeks pinked a bit, but they were already looking cheery thanks to the several glasses of wine she’d already had. Chloe wasn’t far behind either, so she wasn’t one to judge.

            Chloe continued. “I’ll tell you about my first kiss then! It was with Brandon Miller in the eighth grade, and it was,” Chloe made a face like she smelled something rotten. “It was sooo gross! We’d only been ‘dating’, and I use that word very loosely, for a few days, and one day he walked me home from school and we were just standing outside my house talking and then he leaned down to kiss me and it was just so wet and awkward and I hated every second of it. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to kiss him again, because he broke up with me a few days later and then moved away at the end of the year.”

            “Oh god, that sounds awful!” Sam laughed in a mock-horrified kind of way. “Is that what it’ll be like for me and Mark? I’m going to look like such an idiot.”

            “Hey, don’t worry about it. I didn’t get good at kissing overnight, no one does. And a big reason my first kiss was so bad was because I didn’t even really like Brandon that much. He just asked me out and it seemed like the thing to do, so I said sure. Kissing gets really good when you’re doing it with someone you like, I promise.”

            Sam took a few long sips from her stemless wine glass and rested her head against the side of the couch to look at Chloe. She moved her legs so that she was nearly sitting on her left foot while her right leg stretched out in front of her, landing on top of Chloe’s legs. Chloe instinctively rested her hand that wasn’t busy with her wine glass on top of Sam’s shin. Sam noticed the warmth of Chloe’s hand, making herself comfortable with her body as she was doing with her thoughts when she was around her new friend.

            “It’s just- we’re adults. First kisses seem like such a high school thing, I don’t want him to think I’m some sort of weirdo- I know, I know, it’s normal and I never have to kiss anyone until I want to, whatever. But I really want it to be good, and not have to think about all that other stuff,” Sam said. Her thoughts picked up and started to race as Chloe traced tiny letters and symbols into Sam’s leg. Chloe liked that Sam had actual leg hair, even well into the start of summer. Chloe had always thought about not shaving enough to let her leg hair get kind of long, but she hated the feeling of when it grew back all stubbly and prickly, and she was too impatient to let it grow and get softer so she would just shave it again.

“I mean, this whole situation is kinda fucked anyway right, he’s been lost in time for years and also in a coma? And the only reason I know how to try to get him out at all is because of Dr. Bright, and oh my god I really can’t be having feelings for my therapist’s brother! This is doomed! I’ve been so blind, this relationship was never going to work, was it?” Sam looked away from Chloe and downed the rest of her wine before reaching for the bottle on the table again.

            “Woah, woah, slow your roll there,” Chloe said, intercepting Sam’s glass and placing it on the table along with her own. “I don’t think a refill is gonna help this one, Sam. I’ll admit that Mark being your therapist’s brother might be a challenge, especially since there’s no hiding something like that from Dr. Bright. But that doesn’t mean it’s doomed! Besides, you and Mark are both adults and honestly, I think as long as you don’t talk about him during sessions, it might not even be that weird! Okay, it’ll be weird. But none of that means it’s not worth taking a risk. Which, judging by the way he smiles at you, I don’t think it’s much of a risk at all.”

            That definitely made Sam’s cheeks turn a riper shade of pink, and Chloe apologized while Sam just shook her head.

            “No, you have a point. I just… like him, and it’s so new to me, I just want to have one thing I can be certain about, you know? Ugh, I wish I wasn’t so inexperienced, you know? I wish someone could just teach me how to kiss so I wouldn’t have to worry about embarrassing myself later,” Sam said, staring at the ceiling.

            Chloe was looking Sam, half a smile on her face, and something that was almost serious in her eyes.

            “If you’re really so worried, I could teach you.”

            Sam looked at her, a little startled, and very much embarrassed. But, as Chloe could tell from her thoughts, she was interested in potentially relieving one of her anxieties.

            “I mean, I’m sure you want your first kiss to be with Mark, but I’m your friend and of course I’m not going to judge you on your first time trying something new. You’re obviously really stressed about this and I want to do everything I can to ease your mind,” Chloe said gently.

            “Are you sure? That’s- I mean- that’d be amazing of you, but I don’t want it to be weird or feel like you have to. And, I have to admit it sounds like a nice idea to have my first kiss be with a friend who I trust and feel safe around,” Sam said.

            Chloe felt her chest warm at that, and hearing the excited, spiraling thoughts pouring out of Sam’s head telling her how she trusted her and appreciated her kindness and her friendship, and even just being with her tonight, drinking wine and talking about relationship stuff. She could always hear Sam questioning everything and jumping to conclusions and expecting the worst, and it had been pretty nice to actually hear her more relaxed thoughts a couple of times throughout the night.

            “Of course I’m sure, Sam. You’re so funny, and genuine, and meeting you has been one of the best things to come from our weird powers. I just want to help, and I may not know anything about time traveling, or, like, parallel dimensions or whatever, but I do know about kissing,” Chloe said, smiling widely.

            “I am sure,” Sam said, her voice small. Her thoughts were nervous, but she also wanted to learn, and she figured it was about her time that she had a first kiss anyway.

            “Okay, but seriously any time you want me to stop you just tell me okay? This is supposed to be fun and calm, not stressful,” Chloe said seriously. She was already starting to unfold herself and move closer to Sam when she heard Sam think her agreement.

            She kneeled next to Sam and put a hand on Sam’s side to steady herself, connecting them both before their lips touched. Sam had a ridiculous look on her face somewhere between happy and serious, and Chloe tried not to smile too much as she leaned down to press their lips together, being as slow as possible without trying to drag out the suspense. Sam’s usually racing thoughts slowed and speed up somehow at the same time, clearly not having ever expected her first kiss to be with another girl, but also pleased that it was with a friend.

            One of the words that kept leaping out at Chloe was “soft,” and that made her smile as she drew back from the kiss.

            “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Chloe asked. Sam just hummed a little bit in response and thought that it was good, and leaned in, asking Chloe to teach her more. Chloe laughed and brought her hand that had been resting on the top of the couch to the side of Sam’s face, and Sam laughed a little before Chloe said, “Just relax,” and kissed her again.

            This time, Chloe didn’t pull away after only a moment. She moved her lips over Sam’s, opening her mouth slightly to encourage Sam to do the same. Sam was trying to copy the motions, but it was clumsy and her teeth got in the way more than a few times, and Chloe could hear her trying to focus and apologizing over and over and over.

            After a few minutes, Sam was beginning to relax more with her mouth open, and Chloe became suddenly hyperaware that she was practically straddling Sam, but according to her thoughts, Sam barely noticed, intent on getting better control of her mouth. Chloe had never focused on anyone’s drunk thoughts before, and although she wasn’t totally wasted, Sam’s thoughts were definitely… blurry. Messier than usual. Not that Chloe was sober either, which probably contributed to the cloudiness of it. The thoughts came to her the way trying to walk through thick mud feels, heavy and draining.

And the more they kissed, the softer Sam’s thoughts became. She wasn’t worried thinking about what was going to happen when they brought Mark back, or if they even could. There wasn’t a hint of anxiety once she finally started to get the hang of kissing with her mouth open.

Chloe couldn’t help but to move so she was almost completely flush against Sam. They were so close, but it wasn’t enough. Chloe could feel Sam all around her, in her head, and on her body, it was intimate in a way that was so different from anything she had ever felt before. Chloe really, _really_ liked kissing Sam.

And it seemed like Sam liked kissing her back. Or, maybe she was just eager to learn how to kiss and she was drunk and so was Chloe. It was hard to tell when Chloe was rapidly losing focus on anything that wasn’t Sam’s mouth.

Sam was starting to get the hang of it, copying what Chloe did with less sloppiness than at the start. Chloe went for Sam’s bottom lip, lightly biting and sucking it between her own lips. Sam’s whole body pitched forward for just a second, and it was as if something clicked, and although her side of the kissing had been mostly passive, she began to kiss back harder, with more of her own tongue, her own teeth, with more determination than before.

Chloe had never felt more aware of another person. Sure, she’d had boyfriends in the past, obviously she learned to kiss somewhere. But even when she was reading someone’s mind she had never felt this way before. She had never known what it was like to read someone’s tipsy thoughts, or kiss someone who knew she could hear their every response. She could feel Chloe’s hand, light and a little cold, resting on the small of her back.

She could feel Sam becoming more and more confident with kissing, Chloe could hear her enjoying it, and Chloe almost wasn’t thinking herself, until she involuntarily ground down into Sam’s lap, and it was like her consciousness just snapped.

She jolted back, almost as if she’d touched a livewire and all she could see was Sam looking dazed and happy, smiling at Chloe like she held all the secrets to the universe.

“How’d I do?” Sam asked, still smiling, her lips still shining and pink. It took Chloe a second to recover from that, her breathing shallow and her chest hot.

“Really well.” Chloe was trying to get her breathing under control and she heard Sam notice something maybe off about her reaction and- “Of course, you had an amazing teacher,” Chloe said pulling a grin. It wasn’t a fake grin either, Sam’s happiness and new confidence was infectious and Chloe felt good.

But it was different, this kissing. Chloe hadn’t expected to lose herself in it so much, for her body to react how it did without her even fully thinking about it.

And it worried her. Not that she liked kissing a girl, that wasn’t really a shock- but that she liked kissing _this_ girl. A girl four years older than her, who was so endlessly fascinating, yet charmingly predictable. And she just taught that girl to kiss so Sam could impress the object of her affections.

Mark.

She wasn’t trying to impress Chloe. But Sam had definitely, unintentionally, enchanted her.

Sam didn’t notice that Chloe was having something of a mini-crisis, too busy relishing the feeling of accomplishment from learning something fun and new, as well as being several glasses deep into their bottle of wine. And Chloe wanted to keep it that way. She poured herself another generous glass of wine to give her hands something to do besides rest on Sam’s skin, and poured a few fingers into Sam’s glass when she held it out, too. Chloe settled back on the couch next to Sam, her skin feeling impossibly hot where their legs touched.

Chloe grabbed the remote from the table and turned up the volume on whatever movie had been playing quietly in the background for the last hour. The show they’d been watching earlier had ended, and now some second-rate late night mystery thriller was on, but she didn’t care enough to change it and she didn’t want to talk much about what had just happened.

What _had_ happened? Chloe knew that she liked Sam, but she was so happy to make a new friend, especially another girl who could understand her, another atypical girl, and all of a sudden she was trying to control her heart rate and her thoughts, and her body, and they were all betraying her now. She finished her last glass of wine far too quickly, and Sam offered her the couch for the night so she wouldn’t have to get into a cab or a Lyft while drunk.

“Thank you so much,” Chloe said, grateful for the opportunity to sleep.

“Of course! It’s the least I can do after you brought me wine and happiness and the gift of knowledge,” Sam said, giggling as she opened up a large closet and grabbed an extra pillow and sheets.

“Anytime,” Chloe said, “But honestly I am ready to crash right now. I think I’m just gonna pass out. Thanks again for letting me stay here tonight.”

As Sam set the folded sheets and blankets next to her with the pillow, Chloe half imagined Sam would lean down further and give her a good night kiss, but she just smiled, and told her to sleep well, and holler if she needed anything.

Before she knew it, Sam was behind a closed door in her own bedroom and Chloe was left sitting on the couch by herself, collapsing back and staring up at the steadily whirring ceiling fan above. Chloe stewed and overthought, and then overthought some more. Which was so, so unlike her. She was so good at being casual, usually. She needed to shake whatever this was.

She had to support Sam. That was what she had come to her apartment to do, to calm her down about relationship stuff. Boy stuff. Chloe wanted to give Sam one normal night with a friend, something she’d never really had. So much for a normal girls’ night, Chloe thought.

It was one make-out session, and they’d both had some wine, so surely it was just a passing feeling. It had been a while since she dated anyone, but there was no way this would develop into a full blown crush. It would be silly! And it could never work between them, anyway, with how Sam was so pessimistic, and yet somehow naive.

She was so different from Chloe. But at the same time, that made her want to know everything about her. Sam could be so passionate, and Chloe could tell she didn’t give herself the chance often enough to talk about things she knew and loved. But when she talked about something with Chloe it felt… special. Like maybe she felt a connection to her that she didn’t get out of other interactions. Plus, she already knew what kissing her was like, and it was so different from kissing boys, even from kissing another girl at a high school party one time. It wasn’t like that girl had meant anything to her-

“Oh jeez,” Chloe whispered, folding her arm over her eyes, and squeezing them shut.

She was maybe in a little more trouble than she thought.


End file.
